The crew of a Polish cargo ship being held in Brazil after half a ton of cocaine was found on board has been allowed to return home.
The Polish-owned bulk carrier Jawor has been anchored in the port of São Luís since early October after the drugs were found hidden in 40-kilogram bags.
Although Brazilian authorities say they believe they were planted while the ship lay at anchor just off the coast, the ship’s 20-strong crew members were confined to a hotel for questioning and had their passports seized.
But following the intervention of Polish consular services and the Polish Steamship Company (PŻM) which owns the Jawor, a Brazilian court has now allowed the sailors to return home.
A PŻM spokesman said that the narcotics were planted on board the Jawor at night when the ship was waiting to enter the São Luís harbor, with the perpetrators likely using a small vessel to approach the ship and board it when the crew was asleep.
He added that Brazilian ports are stops on the drug smuggling route from South America to Europe and that merchant ships are increasingly targeted by drug cartels as a means of transporting illicit narcotics.
Although Brazilian authorities say they believe they were planted while the ship lay at anchor just off the coast, the ship’s 20-strong crew members were confined to a hotel for questioning and had their passports seized.
But following the intervention of Polish consular services and the Polish Steamship Company (PŻM) which owns the Jawor, a Brazilian court has now allowed the sailors to return home.
A PŻM spokesman said that the narcotics were planted on board the Jawor at night when the ship was waiting to enter the São Luís harbor, with the perpetrators likely using a small vessel to approach the ship and board it when the crew was asleep.
He added that Brazilian ports are stops on the drug smuggling route from South America to Europe and that merchant ships are increasingly targeted by drug cartels as a means of transporting illicit narcotics.
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